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e-on ships Vue 2014.6 and PlantFactory 2014.6

e-on software has released PlantFactory 2014.6* and Vue 2014.6, the latest updates to its plant-creation and environment tools, just four months after their respective 2014.5 releases.

It’s the first time we can recall e-on putting out two major updates to its products within a single annual release cycle, at least in recent years. So what’s changed since May?

Further relaxation of PlantFactory’s EULA
First up, PlantFactory’s EULA has been further relaxed. The previous update clarified the fact that content created in the software could be used in games, and licensed freelancers to sell it to a single client.

This update goes a step further, and permits users to sell content anywhere they like, including on any online marketplace: the major issue many artists had with the original EULA.

However, restrictions remain: to do that, you have to have make the source file available on Cornucopia3D, e-on’s own online marketplace, for no more than 1.5 times the lowest price you sell the asset elsewhere.

The EULA also forbids users from selling rigged or animated meshes created with Plant Factory, even if they were modified in another application.

Resolution limit removed for PlantFactory Exporter
Another important change is the removal of limitations on Plant Factory Exporter, the free tool designed to enable users of other 3D applications to browse content created with The Plant Factory.

Introduced in the 2014.5 release, and intended to enable artists to inspect PF content on Cornucopia3D, Exporter had a fixed mesh resolution and permitted a range of simple parametric changes to the asset.

The latest update provides unlimited resolution and full parametric control.

The core app’s export capabilities have also been extended, with presets tailored to common 3D packages; options for embedded alpha, texture relative path and axis system; and improved export of material lighting.

e-on also says that export speed is “drastically improved”.

Better pipeline interoperability in Vue 2014.6
Vue also gets new import/export options, continuing the work on expanding pipeline interoperability begun in the original 2014 release.

Most are improvements to import of FBX files or Nuke .chan files, and apply only to the xStream edition.

However, OBJ import now automatically detects the OBJ’s source software and adjusts axis orientation and scale to match: handy, and also available in Vue Infinite 2014.6.

Updated 23 September: Non-commercial PLE versions of PlantFactory and Vue 2014.6 are out (links below). Both have all the features of the full products, and are not save-disabled, but have render and export limitations.